Big Picture

Biebs & Selena's Saturdate Plus, a gust of wind surprises Rosario & Kristin Cavallari is preggers perfect. Get the latest pics!

MORE PHOTOS +

Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player. Get the latest Flash player.

Fashion Police

Special Edition: 2012 Oscars From Gwyneth Paltrow to Emma Stone, Jennifer Lopez, Cameron Diaz, Michelle Williams and more, see whose style soared and whose went splat!

MORE PHOTOS +

Top Galleries

MORE PHOTOS +

Our Partners

Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player. Get the latest Flash player.

David Letterman Jokes About Extremist Death Threats on Late Show

Mon., Aug. 22, 2011 7:30 PM PDT by Bruna Nessif

Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player. Get the latest Flash player.

David Letterman revealed a novel response to being marked for death on an extremist website.

Start cracking jokes.

Yes, really. The late-night funnyman returned to his CBS show tonight after being on vacation for two weeks and acknowledged that he had been targeted by a jihadist website, and that's when he started getting funny...

MORE: David Letterman Marked for Death on Extremist Website

"Tonight," he said, "you people are more, to me, honestly, than an audience—you're more like a human shield."

Letterman went on to say, "Backstage, I was talking to the guy from CBS. We were going through the CBS life insurance policy to see if I was covered for jihad."

The comedian, who acknowledged that the State Department was looking into the threats, continued to laugh at the (serious) situation by addressing the Islamic site's wish to cut his tongue off.

"A guy, a radical extremist threatened to cut my tongue out," Letterman said. "I wish I had a nickel for every time a guy has threatened (that). I think the first time was during the Academy Awards."

And then the comes the killer punchline...

"Everybody knows it's (Jay) Leno."

He also poked fun at the threats by incorporating it into his Top Ten list, titled, "Top Ten Thoughts That Went Through My Mind After Hearing about the Threat."

Well, that's one way of dealing with the problem.

Do you think playing it lightly is the right way to go? Tell us in the comments.

WATCH: Other celebs choose to handle unpleasant run-ins differently.

Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player. Get the latest Flash player.